US Media Ignores Obama’s Muffed Japan Visit

by Warner Todd Huston

The Japanese media has reported that Obama’s recent state visit to their island nation was a big failure, but the U.S. media is mum on the mess that Team Obama made in Japan. He made multiple diplomatic gaffs and this is quite aside from the absurdly low bow that the incompetent president perpetrated upon greeting the Japanese Emperor Akihito.

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Before we get to his other multiple fluffs and diplomatic errors, let’s explain what Obama was telling the Japanese people with his absurdly low bow. The sort of bow that Obama made is almost that of a “dogeza” bow. This is a sort of bow that is so low as to be considered a prostrated position. It is seen as an apology, a supplication, not a sign of respect. So, as we see, Obama once again showed that he wants to be known as the less-than president, that he is representing a prostrated people, and that he feels that to everyone he meets overseas he must apologize for this horrible U.S.A.

The inappropriate bow, however, wasn’t the only mistake that Obama committed in Japan. According to the mainstream Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun the visit was termed “miserable,” and “the worst US-Japan summit meeting in history” by Japanese insiders. Worse, the Japanese government was so upset at the visit that it retaliated at various points issuing slights right back to President Obama during his stay on Japanese soil.

From a translation by an American living in Japan comes news that Obama began the trip on a sour note when, with little advanced notice, the president seemed to arbitrarily change his arrival schedule in Japan throwing Japanese officials into chaos.

Obama was originally set to land in Japan on November 12, attend a summit meeting with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on the 13th, and then leave for Singapore on the 14th to attend the APEC Summit meeting. But according to the Japanese magazine, on Nov. 7 the Obama Administration abruptly changed plans and rescheduled the president’s arrival for the 13th instead of the 12th, shaving a day off the visit.

… their excuse for the delay was the shooting at Ft. Hood, Texas on the US Army base on November 5. But the fact of the matter is, the memoral service was on the November 10 and only took a day trip for Obama whereupon he returned immediately to Washington. After that, he had the National Security Council meeting on policy in Afghanistan on November 11th. However, he could have departed Washington D.C. right after that and could have still landed in Japan as everyone agreed and planned on, for the 12th.

In another slight to Japan, a Japanese ruling party spokesman noted that it was obvious to them that Obama was more interested in China on this trip anyway as four days were scheduled for the Communists while only two were scheduled for them.

The magazine notes that Obama was left waiting in a car for five minutes at the entrance to the Prime Minister’s Official Residence and this may have been a message of rebuke sent to Obama by Japanese officials for the president’s abrupt change of schedule.

Shukan Bunshun magazine also notes that while the Japanese had “a total of 14 officials, including six cabinet ministers, the Foreign Minister Okada, the Defense Minister Kitazawa,” the president’s retinue only consisted of members of “Team Obama” and no other American officials of high standing. This was taken as a message that Obama did not consider this meeting very important.

Consequently, after the meeting with Japanese officials, PM Hatoyama immediately left Japan for the APEC Summit essentially leaving Obama alone on Japanese soil even though Obama had several other high profile visits to wrap up in Japan. Japanese journalist Michael Yu noted that this was a message that Hatoyama did not feel much respect for Obama since, as host, he essentially abandoned his guest, President Obama, and flew off to Singapore.

The Japanese magazine characterizes this visit as the “worst” one ever.

“To tell you the truth, it had to have been the worst US-Japan Summit Meeting in history,” a source of ours at the Foreign Ministry revealed to us.

This is just one more example of “Team Obama” issuing one slight after another to our allies while slavishly devoting himself to our enemies. The British have felt it, the Germans, the French, and now the Japanese.

It all adds up to a White House that places little interest in good diplomatic relations with our allies.


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Posted Nov 22nd 2009 at 2:07 pm in Culture, Obama, Politics | 165 Comments